SURREY — Surrey animal breeder Xin (Ivy) Zhou has been charged with animal cruelty related to the Feb. 16 BC SPCA seizure of 82 animals “in distress,” the BC SPCA reports.
On that date constables seized 67 cats and 15 dogs — three of them puppies — from Zhou’s property on Colebrook Road.
“We executed a warrant because we received information that Zhou was failing to provide adequate care for the animals who were currently in her custody,” Marcie Moriarty, chief prevention and enforcement officer for the BC SPCA said.
Zhou, operator of a Surrey breeding and boarding facility, is charged under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.
The maximum sentence for a person, if found guilty, is a $75,000 fine, two years in jail and up to a lifetime ban on owning animals. Zhou’s case has yet to be heard by a judge.
The BC SPCA said they seized Persian and short-haired exotic cats, French bulldogs, a Boston terrier, a Pomeranian with three puppies, a Chihuahua, a poodle, a Rottweiler, a Doberman, a Jack Russell terrier and a shiba inu.
Moriarty said most of the animals required months of treatment in SPCA care. Some had to be put down, and some were adopted out.
“We are extremely pleased these charges have been approved,” she said.
“If convicted, we would be very supportive of a ban owning, caring for, breeding or boarding animals.”
tom.zytaruk@thenownewspaper.com
